Michael W. Tompkins
Mike has lived in the Northern Virginia area since 1975. He graduated from the College of William and Mary’s Marshall-Wythe School of Law in 1990 and was admitted to the Virginia State Bar later that year. Also that year, he began teaching legal writing and research at the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law, which he kept doing for two years before leaving academic life for the private practice of law. He now teaches ethics and law for computer science and information technology majors at George Mason University, which involves everything from legal argumentation and philosophy of ethics to free speech, censorship, privacy (including HIPAA and Gramm-Leach-Bliley), intellectual property (patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret law), computer crimes, and general liability of computer professionals.
He is a member of the bars of Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland. He is also admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the District of Maryland and the Eastern District of Virginia, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He is a past member of the Hoffman-l’Anson American Inn of Court and the George Mason American Inn of Court. He is also a member of the Alexandria Bar Association.
Mike has a working knowledge of French. In keeping with the firm’s policy of having a life outside the workplace, he plays several musical instruments.
A more formal professional biography follows:
Admitted to bar: 1990, Virginia, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit; 1992, District of Columbia; 1996, Maryland; 1997, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia; 2000, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland; 2005, Supreme Court of the United States.
Education: B.A., Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, 1987; J.D., College of William and Mary, 1990.
Visiting Fellow and Instructor of Law, Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America, 1990-1992. Adjunct Professor, Computer Science Department, George Mason University, 2003-present.
Member: Virginia State Bar, District of Columbia Bar, Maryland State Bar, Alexandria Bar Association.
Primary Practice Areas: Litigation, Real Estate, Professional Liability, Wills and Estates, and Computer Law.
Email: mtompkins@brincefield.com
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Licenced in: Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia